We ventured to Boyce Thompson Arboretum for the first time this month. When we left I was already trying to figure out when we could visit again. I loved it and can’t believe I have never visited this gem before. And I wish I would have taken more pictures. This place was so pretty.

We saw a few other people meandering about but for most of the two hours we felt like we had the entire place to ourselves. We brought our double jogging stroller for the two little ones and the older two walked with us. There are two parts on the main trail that narrow and our stroller wouldn’t fit but we still felt like we were able to see a good majority of the arboretum. If you are going with toddlers I would recommend a stroller. It was helpful to be able to contain Jesse at times, especially by the Cactus Garden. He walked a good portion of the time we were there but it was nice to have the stroller.

The day we went we had just finished a week of study in Genesis 1:1 learning about what God created and who God is. The kids were walking about saying “wow, God created lots of plants”. It was neat to see them connect what we were doing as a family to what we had learned about this week in our bible lesson.

You can bring outside snacks and drinks into the park and there is a large picnic area available by the butterfly garden. I loved the butterfly garden. It was so awesome and I  loved watching my kids watch the butterflies. They were so still and quiet standing among the wildflowers soaking in the fun of having butterflies surround them.

If you are local and have never been I highly recommend it. And if you are visiting from out of town this would be a fun place to see.

I would love to know any other hidden gems I might be missing out on seeing in Arizona. Let me know.